How Can a Dental Bridge Solve My Missing Tooth Issue?

Every tooth in your mouth plays a critical role in chewing, speaking, and maintaining a proper teeth alignment. Whenever you lose teeth, they must be replaced to maintain the right functionality of your mouth. A bridge is one of the most popular ways of replacing teeth. Dental bridges simply hold teeth in place preserving the rest of the healthy teeth. The loss of one tooth or more can loosen the rest of the teeth and lead to additional tooth loss.

A bridge also known as an abutment tooth can be made of one crown or more for the teeth. The tooth can be made from alloys, gold, porcelain, or a combination of the three. How can the bridges be of help?

• They maintain the shape of your face
• Restore your beautiful smile
• Allow you to chew and speak better
• Keep the remaining teeth from drifting out of position
Bridges are prosthetic devices cemented onto the existing teeth or implants by a professional dentist. They are mostly used to cover space when you are missing teeth, but they can also be used on a damaged tooth or an implant. When fixed by an experienced Charlotte University Area dentist, bridges can last for decades with minimal repair and replacement.

How Do Bridges Work?
They may be recommended by your dentist if you are missing any number of teeth. Missing teeth tend to leave gaps that eventually lead to the rotation or shifting of other teeth into the empty space. Such shifting causes a bad bite. The imbalance brought about by missing teeth may also contribute to the formation of gum disease and temporomandibular disorders.

Normally, dental bridges span the space left by missing teeth. Replacement teeth (pontic) are attached to the crowns covering the abutments. Based on the location of the missing teeth, the aesthetic considerations, and the function of the lost teeth, your dentist can help you decide on the best material to consider.

Why You Need a Bridge?
Teeth are designed to work together. Each time you lose a tooth, the nearby tooth drifts into the empty space. Those in the opposite jaw may also shift towards the space. This could eventually place more stress on the jaw joints. Drifted teeth are also hard to clean. This ends up putting them at a high risk of decay and gum disease. When one or more teeth are missing, the bone may also shrink. When that happens, the way the jaw bone supports the cheeks and the lips is altered. With time, such changes could make the face look older.
One of the worst side effects of missing teeth is gum disease, the more reason to contact an experienced Charlotte University Area dentist. If you are missing any teeth, click here to request an appointment.